Some UK restaurants have begun introducing ‘carbon footprint charges’, saddling diners with the cost of the meal’s environmental impact.
Customers have noticed charity donations for a scheme called Carbon Friendly Dining appearing on restaurant bills, on top of service fees.
Backed by retail consultancy Lightspeed, the scheme is aiming to charge £1.23 per person to plant fruit trees in developing countries to tackle global warming.
Celebrity chefs Marco Pierre White and James Martin are among a number of restaurant owners to have signed up.
Carbon Friendly Dining’s website says the charge “helps counterbalance the environmental impact” of diners’ meals and “also help some of the poorest communities on the planet”.
A spokesman said that the new additional charges were “highly visible” and “completely optional” and that diners were given leaflets explaining the initiative’s goals.
Diners can ask for the new donation on their bill to be removed.
Dozens of restaurants, pubs and hotels across the UK have signed up to the carbon-offsetting donation.
The scheme says it has planted 3.5million trees so far in countries like Ethiopia, Brazil and the Philippines through the tree-planting scheme GiftTrees.
The company estimates that each tree’s 40-year lifespan will offset one tonne of carbon dioxide.
A similar scheme was launched in 2018 in California, which added a one percent charge to bills to help farmers decarbonise.
Hilton hotels also recently added a climate rating, similar to calorific ratings, to menus to inform diners of the carbon impact of each dish.
It says: “Your diners are willing to spend more if it means contributing to causes they believe in. Retain eco-conscious customers by instilling a sense of empowerment each time they eat with you.”
Carbon Friendly Dining also supplies clothing, shelter and food to people living in poverty around the world.
